Government should be "confident of the power of its brands", Comms Academy told

Speakers at the Public Sector Communications Academy have advised attendees not to underrate the power of government comms and taken them through the workings of the Government's GREAT campaign to promote Britain abroad.

One of the speakers at the event in Manchester today, Michelle Harrison, told PRs not to "undersell the power of Her Majesty’s Government".

Opportunities were opening up as businesses seek to be seen as having a positive social impact, the CEO of WPP’s public sector and government practice claimed.

However, she said Whitehall had underplayed the "power and value of its own brand".

"Big brands are looking to show that they’re making a social contribution and aligning with Government is a way of doing that. I don’t think it’s being done in Whitehall departments yet and the next paradigm is for Government to be confident of the power of its brands."

Harrison highlighted the success of the GREAT campaign as an example to follow, and shortly after her speech GREAT campaign director Conrad Bird also addressed the audience.

He claimed the campaign, which promotes Britain abroad, was on track to achieve a return on investment of £600-800m on £30m budget for 2013/14.

He said the campaign's success demonstrated the importance of partnerships, such as a tie-in with James Bond film Skyfall and getting renowned photographer David Bailey to work with the Queen.

"It's about changing perceptions, putting out powerful stories and persuading people Britain has more to offer," he said.

"You need to have the boldness and courage to try to do things that have never been done before," he added.

The Public Sector Communications Academy is led by LGCommunications and features speakers from central government and local government. It concludes tomorrow.